The Irish Plastic Bag

“It was sad to see the empty bag Blown about like a dirty rag” A Summer Morning Walk By Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967) Introduction: In March 2002, the Irish Government introduced a 15 Euro cent environmental levy on all shopping plastic bags, previously provided free of charge to consumers at points of sale. The motivation for such was primarily to reduce the consumption of plastic bags and the resulting downstream litter effects on the Irish landscape. The impact was immediate and dramatic. Research by these authors estimated a reduction in the consumption of plastic shopping bags in excess of 90%. Associated gains in the form of reduced littering and negative landscape effects were also recorded. The levy has collected in excess of €85 million and administration of the levy was simple with associated costs amounting to approximately 3 per cent of revenues. Despite some initial hostility to the proposal in some quarters, acceptance by stakeholders has also been widespread. The fact that such a product tax has influenced consumer behaviour in such a dramatic way has heightened interest in it use amongst policymakers both in Ireland and elsewhere. Similar levies have been proposed in jurisdictions as diverse as Scotland and Australia. Policymakers in Ireland have proposed follow-on environmental charges on products ranging from Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) paper receipts and chewing gum.